Lower right: Bradbury and Hamlin, from the collection of Bradley Mason Hamlin
It so happens that three writers I greatly admire live in California. Two of them know me. They are Brad Hamlin and Jay “jota” Mejia. As far as I know, those two have never met one another, but they have, on separate occaisions, met the third and most famous of the trio – Ray Bradbury.
Bradley Mason Hamlin says, “I was able to tell Ray at that convention how much his story I See You Never means to me. He said, ‘What? Really?’ I could tell it meant something to him. He wasn’t above feeling good about getting positive criticism for his lesser known work. He had never been told that before, about that particular story. A magical moment, for sure. I was able to give him something very small in exchange for the giant gift he has given me and countless others.” Read more of this “Ray story” on Brad’s blog, The Sun Will Explode.
Jay Mejia says, “I told him my intention was to someday give up reporting and turn full-time to writing. ‘You already are, just write for yourself.’ That made me laugh and I told him about all the editors and journalism professors and English teachers who had drilled and admonished me to think first of the audience. ‘Ho, ho!’ Uncle Ray hooted. ‘No, you are your own best audience. Write for yourself. Get up out of bed and get to it. Listen to the stories and the voices in your morning head and bring them to life. Read More of Jay’s Ray story on Literary Kicks
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